Danish Views and Bookish News
I had a few days in Copenhagen this month and loved the place in this photo. Freetown Christiania is a commune near the city centre where people live outside the normal jurisdictions of city life. (See photo)
It’s a vibrant, beautiful place and I really recommend visiting if you go to Denmark. The whole thing started from a few people squatting in a disused military barracks in the 1970s and grew from there.
I also achieved another big ambition by not getting murdered when I travelled over The Bridge… which featured in a brilliant TV Scandi thriller series of the same name. It’s a tremendous structure linking Denmark to Sweden.
The past month I’ve been pretty much living in The Word in South Shields as it’s had some great writing events.
I saw a top group of crime authors at an all-day session, organised by Vic Watson of Bay Tales fame. Called The Word is Murder it had a first class line-up including Steph McGovern, Emma Flint and C M Ewan. They were honest about the graft that goes into writing a novel and in some cases, the long road to publication, which could take up to 10 years before getting a ‘lucky’ break.
The last one I went to was with Daily Mirror associate editor Kevin Maguire, who grew up in South Shields, interviewed former politician, Alan Johnson, about his new Harold Wilson biography. He was the UK’s Prime Minister in the 1960s and ‘70s. I never realised how much a debt of gratitude we owed to him for a huge council housing building scheme (400,000 homes in one year) and diversity and inclusion policies which still protect rights today.
I also had some good news a week ago. My novel, The Stand-Up Mam, has been shortlisted for a Comedy Women in Print Self Published award. The winner is announced at a party at the famous Groucho Club early November. Keep everything crossed for me as the prize is advice from Atmosphere Press, a publisher, on how to sell your novels better. All words of wisdom on that subject gratefully received! I find Amazon and fb marketing a bit of a mystery…
As well as writing I’m lucky enough to do reviews for a great organisation called Northern Arts Review. Through this role I got invited to the opening of a lovely new bar attached to the Theatre Royal, Newcastle. Called The Green Room, for anyone based in the region, I’d totally recommend it.
Reading, Listening and Watching
I’m not reading much at present as I’m trying to proof my allotment story. Finally, it’s finished. Fingers crossed.
However, I am loving podcasts and have seen some good stuff on TV in September.
Podcast highlights were Radio 4’s Shadow World, where Mark Steel explored The People v McDonald’s libel case from a few years ago. It made my jaw drop and is really worth a listen. The two main protagonists, Helen Steel and Dave Morris, were such brave and tenacious people they deserve medals.
On the Richard Osman and Marina Hyde’s podcast, ‘The Rest is Entertainment’, the director Christopher Columbus was interviewed. It was fascinating to hear about his career and all of the films he’s created including The Goonies, the first Harry Potter films, Home Alone, Mrs Doubtfire and The Thursday Murder Club. His career started after University with the Gremlins which he wrote as he had rats in his New York apartment and when they ran by his hair at night, it inspired the whole tale! Urrggghh. What an image I’ve created. Sorry!
Thanks for reading this and have a lovely Autumn.